Halladay on the Block?

[bwitty24]

Toronto Blue Jays General Manager J.P. Ricciardi has spoken with Roy Halladay and prepared him for the possibility that he will bring trade possibilities to the pitcher in the weeks or months ahead.




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Halladay, 32, has a no-trade clause that will allow him to dictate whether he will be dealt before he becomes eligible for free agency next fall.

"He's open to at least listening," said Ricciardi. "He's not going to be a guy who will let you do all the work [preparing for a possible trade], and then he's not willing to listen. If it makes sense, he will listen."

The Jays' situation with Halladay is much like that which faced the Minnesota Twins during the 2007 season with ace Johan Santana: The left-hander was set to become eligible for free agency in 2008, and after Santana turned down an offer from Minnesota, the Twins dealt him to the Mets.

Halladay is eligible for free agency after the 2010 season, and so the Jays essentially will have three windows of opportunity in which they could consider dealing the former Cy Young Award winner -- in the 24 days before the July 31 trade deadline; during the off-season; or next season.



Halladay

And the Jays have begun the process of casting a line in the water to see what they could get in return for the right-hander, whose work ethic is as highly regarded as his ability.

"We're not inclined to move him, but we're going to see what's out there," said Ricciardi.

If Halladay walks away as a free agent after the 2010 season, the Jays would get the equivalent of two high draft picks as compensation, so that level of value would be a starting point for any interested team. Halladay would fit any team, of course.

Right now, the team most aggressively searching for a frontline starting pitcher is the Philadelphia Phillies, who no doubt would covet Halladay for their particular park for his ability to generate ground balls and missed swings -- he has a ground ball/fly ball ratio of 1.30, to go along 98 strikeouts in 116 innings this season. The question about the Phillies -- as it is with most teams these days, when the value of young players has never been higher -- is whether they would be willing to give up what the Jays would require in trade.

The Boston Red Sox could afford Halladay and know first-hand that he is capable of pitching effectively in the AL East -- something they and the New York Yankees doubted about Jake Peavy -- but Boston has stubbornly clung to its young pitching, and might be reluctant to trade a package of prospects for Halladay. The Yankees have been devoted to the rebuilding of their farm system, and would have to swap some of the young stars they have developed to get Halladay.

Both Boston and the Yankees dabbled in the Santana trade talks, but neither front office was fully invested in the pursuit of the left-hander, who was three years younger than Halladay is now.

The New York Mets may or may not have the caliber of prospects that the Jays would require to make the deal; the same could be said for the Chicago Cubs. The Jays would want one of the Dodgers' best young starters for Halladay -- either Clayton Kershaw or Chad Billingsley -- and that figures to be a deal-breaker for L.A.

Halladay, who is 10-2 with a 2.79 ERA for the Jays this year, is earning $14.25 million this year, and will make $15.75 million next season.

Buster Olney is a senior baseball writer for ESPN The Magazine.

If the Yankees went for Roy Halladay that would be very, very sweet. It would be nice for Halladay to go to a team that can win a championship (so long as it is not the Red Sox). As one of the best pitchers of my lifetime I think he deserves to play to win a championship.

[ljshorty89]

If the Mets could swing Halladay(not sure how), that would certainly go a long way in helping them stay in contention this year....

But I doubt he even gets traded this year, I don't think the Yankees or Sox have a spot in the rotation for him....I mean, they'd find one, but would they give up all that just to have to move someone else who's doing decently out of the rotation?

[bwitty24]

Pitching wins championships LJ. I'd much rather have Halladay than Wang and Pettite.

[NYgiantsfan5689]

Where would Halladay fit in the Yankees rotation? Wang isn't done getting chances yet, I still have hope for him as do a lot of people. And even with him out, guys are making quality starts. Like I said in the Joe Mauer to the Yankees area, I'd rather see them spend money on a clear position of need for next year, like outfield.

I'm not saying Halladay wouldn't be amazing for New York. That'd be awesome to see, especially to see what he can do in the playoffs. But I don't know if it's the right move for the team.

[bwitty24]

I think anytime you can make a move for a Cy Young pitcher, it is the right move. As I said before, pitching wins championships. If you look at the Yankees the past couple of seasons they haven't really had an ace. If the Yankees make the playoffs this year I would MUCH RATHER have Roy Halladay than some upgrade in the outfield.

[ljshorty89]

Pitching wins championships LJ. I'd much rather have Halladay than Wang and Pettite.

I'd agree completely, but what do the Yankees do with Pettite and Wang? The ideal situation would be, if Joba was still in the bullpen, you could have CC, AJ, Halladay, Hughes, Pettite in the rotation, with Wang on the DL right now....and then when he comes back either him, Pettite, or Hughes to the bullpen. Unfortunately, right now the Yankees have 6 SP's, and adding Halladay would only cause more of a logjam.

Halladay would be a great addition, but it's not like the Yankees would want to send Wang/Pettite to AAA and who knows if they'd be any good out of the pen?

[cjkalt]

umm they do have to trade something for Halladay right... u know its not just a handaway to the Yankees?

[catman]

I do not see the Yankees parting with the prospects needed to make this deal, nor do I see the Jays dealing this guy within the division. The Angels, Braves and Phillies would be front-runners, IMO.
Would the Braves be willing to add Tommy Hanson to the deal? If so, they would likely get it done pretty quickly.

[bwitty24]

I was thinking the same thing Catman about trading within the division. They would have to get AMAZING value to do that IMO.

[cjkalt]

I do not see the Yankees parting with the prospects needed to make this deal, nor do I see the Jays dealing this guy within the division. The Angels, Braves and Phillies would be front-runners, IMO.
Would the Braves be willing to add Tommy Hanson to the deal? If so, they would likely get it done pretty quickly.

Problem is he has a NTC and will only approve it for Bos, NY, or PHI according to Jon Heyman and other sources... so if we analyze these 3 teams.

PHI- Would love to have him, but it would gut their system, dont have a top near ready spec, but have a lot of potential in the lower levels, but I think a club like Toronto would want a package with something more concrete than what Philly can offer; Also their payroll is already at 130 million, and its very questionable how much they can take on short and long term

NYY- Always have the money but also don't have much prospect talent in the upper levels. Not really sure what the value of Hughes/Kennedy are anymore... a trade for Halladay would have to wipe out a weak system as is... considering how they can't fill the expensive seats, do they want to gut everything for another 18+ mil pitcher after 2010?

BOS- The trading partner that in terms of the Blue Jays makes the most sense in terms of prospects and ability to add salary. The Red Sox have the upper level talent which is probably neccesary to make a trade for Halladay but the Sox are one of the few teams that already have too many arms. Is it worth trading Buchholz/Bowden and other pieces (Lars?) to get him? Probably not if it requires Lars, but if we say can trade Penny away for specs and flip them with Bowden/Buchholz for him... then maybe the Sox will consider it... a rotation of Halladay, Lester, Beckett, Wake, Smoltz is pretty darn good.


In the end (unless Halladay has a change of heart and is willing to go west), I'd rate the contenders like so

1) Stays in Toronto
2) Red Sox
3) Phillies
4) Yankees

[catman]

The only way the Jays trade within the division is to be absolutely blown away by the deal. Jon Lester and Jacoby Ellsbury would have to be included, and the Red Siox would have to eat Vernon Wells' salary in the deal, in a similar deal to the one that brought Beckett and Lowell from Florida. Here is a potential deal for the Red Sox -- Lester, Ellsbury, Michael Bowden and Ryan Dent for Halladay and Wells.
The Yankees would have to include both Phillip Hughes and Austin Jackson in the deal. Phillip Hughes, Austin Jackson, Andrew Brackman, and Melky Cabrera (a major league ready CF must be included) for Halladay and Wells.

[Slyder]

I still don't think Milwaukee is out of contention. He would be a god send to that rotation. They would have the pieces to.

Cornerstone of the deal worked around Mat Gamel and Alceides Escobar (SS that Tor needs/wants) or maybe even Fielder.

I wish the Reds could make a pitch for him but if all the reports are right it might take
Homer
Alonso
Stubbs (Im not as high on Stubbs as many)
and more.

[cjkalt]

The only way the Jays trade within the division is to be absolutely blown away by the deal. Jon Lester and Jacoby Ellsbury would have to be included, and the Red Siox would have to eat Vernon Wells' salary in the deal, in a similar deal to the one that brought Beckett and Lowell from Florida. Here is a potential deal for the Red Sox -- Lester, Ellsbury, Michael Bowden and Ryan Dent for Halladay and Wells.
The Yankees would have to include both Phillip Hughes and Austin Jackson in the deal. Phillip Hughes, Austin Jackson, Andrew Brackman, and Melky Cabrera (a major league ready CF must be included) for Halladay and Wells.

There is no way Toronto can demand that much... they basically have run the guy out of town... I doubt they'd even want Lester and Ellsbury cause they are about to make real money in arbitration...they'd rather have Bowden/Buchholz who are under their control at short dollar for a long time and just as good in the longterm

There is no way any team is going to take on Halladay and Wells contracts in this economy, Toronto is doing this cause they have to shed payroll now, and Halladay told the me he didn't want to be in Toronto longterm. They will be seperate deals and I highly doubt they find a taker for Wells...

If they want to dump the salarys on us the Sox MIGHT consider Wells/Halladay for Bowden and Dent... when you are dumping that kinda money onto a team you lose your spec battle

Riccardi could care less about trading within the division, and Toronto has a long history of trading people in the divison, most famously Roger Clemens to NYY.

When you only have 3 teams to choose from its tough

[NYgiantsfan5689]

umm they do have to trade something for Halladay right... u know its not just a handaway to the Yankees?

NYY- Always have the money but also don't have much prospect talent in the upper levels. Not really sure what the value of Hughes/Kennedy are anymore... a trade for Halladay would have to wipe out a weak system as is... considering how they can't fill the expensive seats, do they want to gut everything for another 18+ mil pitcher after 2010?

You must be kidding.....the Yankees have one of the most stacked farm systems in the league. The freakin list goes on.

[cjkalt]

Somebody wasn't reading... UPPER LEVEL TALENT... u guys are lacking in the upper almost MLB ready talent

And you guys were ranked 13th preseason by baseball prospectus... not too high anyways